Interim Stop

Video and sound installation "Interim Stop" was presented at the Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn in 2009. During the exhibition “passengers“ of an old Soviet-time trolley could hear surrounding noises and see urban scenes with a multitude of advertising banners captured from central Tallinn at the time when the increase of special offers and discounts was noticeable due to the recession.


The art project "Interim Stop" at the Hobusepea gallery was specifically designed for the exhibition spot, with the aim to attract wider audiences than just the regular exhibition visitors. Whether this will work at all with today's amount of information is unclear. There are numerous advertisements in the streets of Tallinn. All kinds of offers about how to make our lives better. Things that should seem important for us. Daily things that we are supposed to consume. Something that we need.

The intersection of our artwork is sound. Music has never been barely a background for our work – it is an important part of it and sometimes has even served as the artwork itself. However, music and visual art do not stand alone in order to pose the question whether we deal with exhibiting art or sound. The idea of using the sound of trolleybus, or in other words, simply noise, came to us already in spring of 2005 when we were the first year students of the Estonian Academy of Arts. It was hilariously funny to listen to the names of bus stops that the trolleybus driver inarticulately pronounced – often sounding like swishes or murmurs. Instead of those undefined bus stop names could have been any other message – for example some absurd jokes or an everyday advertisement.

Exhibition view at the Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn.

The names of bus stops are told to passengers in order to inform them about their whereabouts and when they should get off the bus – basically, the bus stops are MESSAGES. Those public announcements are not addressed to anyone personally. Even if the speakers forward totally unselfish information, the trolleybus itself is a message about something. The noise of the old Soviet-time public transportation vehicles is the symbol from the past that does not fit to the present day, neither physically nor mentally. The ideals of the state are oriented towards capitalist success and possessing a car is important for the average person. Yet, when we overcome the embarrassment and shyness and look around in public transport then this gives us much more adequate information about the life in Estonia than expensive supermarkets with their illusory messages.

A lot has changed since 2005. Those who take trolleybuses know that the Soviet-time vehicles are being gradually replaced by modern buses with comfortable seats and with clearly spoken bus stop names. What's also new is the LCD screens for advertisements. The shaky and jolty driving style of the old noisy trolley bus has been replaced by much more silent and smoother way of driving. And even if the names of the bus stops are said out clearly and loudly for passengers, contemporary art still creates unclear messages ... for somebody. I am the trolleybus passenger asking whether it would be right time to make the INTERMEDIATE STOP and to turn off the noise of information? As we often wake up from phychosis only when we are bogged down and all alone.

Marje Len Murusalu & Riho Kall, 2009.